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International Journal of Marine Science 2014, Vol.4, No.44, 1-14
http://ijms.biopublisher.ca
2
has had profound impacts on numerous populations of
elasmobranchs, especially in the Black Sea (Rudneva
et al., 2012). The ability of elasmobranch species to
adapt and recover to such pressures, coupled with
increased anthropogenic pollution and climate change,
remains unknown.
However, the global health and population status of
most elasmobranch species is unknown. It is critically
important to understand the role of this taxa in marine
ecosystems, given their role at the top of the food web.
Therefore, the establishment of baseline health
parameters and how they differ based on life histories
and habitat use is critically important to monitor
adaptive processes and population status of wild
elasmobranch species, such as
S. acanthias
,
R. clavata
and
D. pastinaca
in the Black Sea.
In recent years the biodiversity in the Black Sea has
significantly decreased (Gordina et al., 1999). This
decline is associated with anthropogenic pollution,
overfishing and the introduction of marine invasive
species (Rudneva and Petzold-Bradley, 2001;
Rudneva, 2011). Though the diversity of teleost fish
species and their population status, particularly those
common in economic fisheries, has received great
attention. However, the status of elasmobranchs in the
Black Sea has received significantly less attention,
especially in coastal waters near the interface of
riparian zones and anthropogenic development cities.
Therefore, the response of key elasmobranch species,
such as dogfish
S. acanthias
, buckler skate
R. clavata
and stringray
D. pastinaca
studied here, to the
anthropogenic pressures of fishing and pollution
remains unknown.
In general, various biochemical and health parameters
are used for the evaluation of fish health. These often
reflect physiological status and the influence of certain
biotic (pathogens, parasites, disease state, etc) and
abiotic factors (anthropogenic pollution, habitat
degradation, etc) (Martinez-Alvarez et al., 2005; van
der Oost et al., 2003). Among them blood and hepatic
biochemical characteristics are used widely as early
warning indicators of changes physiological and
health status (Haman et al., 2012). However, in order
for these parameters to indicate such physiological
change, baseline values from healthy individuals must
be established. In this study, we measure dogfish
S.
acanthias
, buckler skate
R. clavata
and stringray
D.
pastinaca
healthy, wild-caught elasmobranch species.
We select several biomarkers such as oligopeptides,
antioxidants,
aminotransferases,
albumin
and
hemoglobin for the evaluation of fish health and detect
them in the red blood cells (RBC), blood serum and
liver.
Specifically, oligopeptides are short sequence peptides
including from 2 to 20 amino acids. Among them the
biological mediators are identified which play an
important role in affecting of biological activity
(Grune, 2000). To protect against oxidative stress
caused many kinds of biotic and abiotic factors,
including anthropogenic pollution, aquatic organisms
have developed different mechanisms such as the
induction of antioxidant enzymes superoxide
dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (PER)
and glutathione (GSH) related enzymes (glutathione
reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GP)
(Livingstone, 2001). Alanine aminotransferase (ALT)
and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) catalyse the
interconversion of amino acids and α-`ketoacids by
transfer of amino groups (van der Oost et al, 2003).
Both aminotransferases play an important role as a
link between carbohydrate and protein metabolism.
Along with the study of transaminase activity, several
researchers used the method of multivariate
approximation. One such approximation is the ratio
proposed by de Rytis coefficient (AST / ALT). This
index allows us to estimate the functional load on the
liver and heart. Changes in the coefficient value
associated with pathological processes in the organs
and tissues, which cause displacement synthesis,
release,
and
metabolic
conversion
of
aminotransferases. Decrease of this value is indicative
of massive hepatocytes, its increase is associated with
myocardial infarction (Titov and Bochkova, 1990).
Previously we described variations in blood
antioxidants of some Black Sea elasmobranchs and
teleosts, thereby reflecting the adaptive strategy of
such fish species to environmental changes and
oxidative stress (Rudneva, 1997). We also showed the
differences of trace elements and nitrozamines
accumulation in three tested Black Sea elasmobranch
species (Rudneva et al., 2012). The aim of the present
study is to detect interspecific differences in blood and
hepatic biomarkers in Black Sea elasmobranch species
and their relation to the ecological status and exposure